Life, the Universe, and Everything

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Makerspace
has been the buzzword for a few years. I usually like to try out new ideas.
They keep me learning and keep my library fresh and vibrant. So I was feeling
guilty when the new school year started and I hadn’t read the book yet, and I
hadn’t figured out how I was going to try to incorporate makerspaces into my
library program.

I finally
realized what was behind my reluctance to get started. I want to share my
thoughts, but let me just say, if you’re doing makerspaces, that’s great for
you. It’s just not right for me.

I have high
schoolers. A good portion of them come from CommArts, a high-performing college
prep magnet school. But what I say next seems to apply to most of my
students—not just the CommArts kids. They all seem to be inundated with planned activities
all day long. They go to classes where they participate in organized activities
for seven hours every day. They need quality down time…time to socialize…time
to just hang out and talk to friends…time to figure out who they are and who
they’re going to become. That awareness comes more in social engagement than in
planned activities.

When my kids
were little, I organized their birthday parties down to the minute.
Pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, then the piñata, then the hula hoop contest, then
hot dogs, cake and ice cream…you get the idea. One day, I realized they didn’t
want me to plan their parties anymore. They just wanted to hang out with their
friends and do whatever. I had to let go and trust that what they were doing is
what they SHOULD be doing.

I believe
free time is important for kids to develop their personalities. Humor me while
I quote an interesting pin from Pinterest. Miss Minimalist quotes Claude
Debussy, “Music is the space between the notes.” In her article, “The Space
Between the Notes,” Miss Minimalist says, “The space between notes allows them
to resonate, reverberate, and reach their full measure of expression.” Later,
she says, “Think of every possession, every activity, every moment of your life
as a note in your symphony. When a musician composes a song, he doesn’t fill it
with as many notes as possible—instead, he chooses just enough to make a
pleasing melody….When we cut out the background noise, we put what’s truly
special to us in the spotlight.”

I think kids
these days are bombarded with background noise--sitting through class, trying
to learn new things for seven hours a day. I’m sure the last thing they want is
an organized activity waiting for them when they come to the library. In the
library, they get to choose. If they want to volunteer to shelve books or work
in the bistro, they can. If they want to sit and read silently or work on
homework, that’s an option, too. If they want to play Magic the Gathering or Yu-gi-oh
cards with their friends, there’s room for that as well. Play chess, do a
puzzle, read a newspaper, just sit and talk with friends—the possibilities are
all there for my students. We have after school clubs—Chess Club, Book Club,
and Anime Club. I guess, when you look
at it, all those activities can be called makerspaces. So I’ve been doing
makerspaces all along. A rose by any other name.